Power driven bone crusher and method for bone crushing

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for bone milling includes a housing defining a first opening, a second opening opposite the first opening, and a linear passage from the first opening to the second opening. The linear passage has a first surface with third opening there through and a second surface transverse to the first surface. A rotatable cutting member is insertable through the third opening to partially block the linear passage. The rotatable cutting member is positioned at a distance from the second surface of the linear passage corresponding to a predetermined bone chip size.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation-in-Part of and claims priority toU.S. Continuation-in-Part Patent Application Ser. No. 11/051,882, filedFeb. 4, 2005, entitled BONE CRUSHER AND METHOD FOR BONE CRUSHING, whichApplication claims priority from U.S. Utility Patent Application Ser.No. 10/961,573, filed Oct. 08, 2004, entitled BONE CRUSHER AND METHODFOR BONE CRUSHING, which application is related to and claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/542,209, filed Feb.05, 2004, entitled BONE CRUSHER AND METHOD THEREFORE, the entirety ofall which are incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

n/a

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an orthopedic medical device andmethod, in particular to a method and device for bone cutting for useduring orthopedic surgery.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Orthopedic surgery often requires the infusion of a slurry comprised ofblood and crushed bone into a surgical site to promote healing andrecovery after an injury. The crushed bone in the slurry is ground andpulverized from a larger bone specimen using a bone grinder that reducesthe larger specimen into crushed bone particles. Bone mills allowpatients to have their own bone particles implanted when there is apreference towards using an autograft to alleviate the possibility ofrejection or infection at the surgical site. The surgeon can utilize thebone particles and the resulting slurry to repair bone defects andperform bone augmentation.

Existing bone mills are large, expensive devices which are cumbersome touse and clean and further require re-sterilization at the end of eachprocedure. Such re-sterilization takes the form of expensive and timeconsuming gas sterilization or autoclave sterilization. In the case ofgas sterilization, the nature of the sterilization process makes thebone mills available for use only once in a 24-hour period. When usingan autoclave sterilization process, the bone mills can be sterilized andavailable for reuse in less than a 24-hour period, however, the bonemills are not immediately available. The resulting period required tore-sterilize the bone mills nevertheless increases the time whichnecessarily passes between procedures, thereby decreasing operating roomand surgical efficiency. Further, the porous nature of blades commonlyfound in bone mills facilitates the retention of bone particles. Theblade porosity hampers the effectiveness of the cleaning process, whichfurthers the possibility of contamination during subsequent use of thebone mill.

Moreover, existing bone mills are typically powered devices that requirean external means for driving the mill, such as a pressurized air sourceor an electrical motor. Additionally, existing mills may only have thecapability to produce a single size of crushed bone particles. As such,a surgical suite needs to have multiple devices to provide crushed boneat different sizes, which greatly increases the cost of havingbone-milling capabilities. Otherwise, a surgeon is disadvantageouslyforced to use crushed bone having a size either too large or too smallfor a particular surgical procedure, resulting in potential difficultiesduring an orthopedic procedure.

It is therefore desirable to have an inexpensive bone mill which is easyto sterilize and can further be adapted to create bone chips ofdifferent sizes. It is also desirable to have a bone mill which can bemanually operated without the assistance of external power sources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention advantageously provides a method and system for abone mill that is easy to sterilize, adapted to create bone chips ofdifferent sizes, and operated manually without the need for externalpower sources. As such, the present invention reduces the overall costof orthopedic procedures requiring a crushed bone slurry, does notadversely impact the surgical suite turn-over time and provides a highyield of usable bone particles having relatively uniform dimensions.

In accordance with the present invention, an aspect provides anapparatus for bone milling in which a housing defines a first opening, asecond opening opposite the first opening, and a linear passage from thefirst opening to the second opening. The linear passage has a firstsurface with third opening there through and a second surface transverseto the first surface. A rotatable cutting member is insertable throughthe third opening to partially block the linear passage. The rotatablecutting member is positioned at a distance from the second surface ofthe linear passage corresponding to a predetermined bone chip size.

In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provide anapparatus for bone milling in which a housing defines a first opening, asecond opening opposite the first opening, and a linear passage from thefirst opening to the second opening. A rotatable cutting membertraverses at least a portion of the linear passage. An actuator elementdefines a first end, a second end opposite the first end and a channelextending from the first end to the second end. The channel is adaptedto contain at least a portion of the rotatable cutting member therein.The first end is removably coupled to the housing and the rotatablecutting member is removable from the channel through the second end ofthe actuator element while the actuator element remains coupled to thehousing.

According to still another aspect a method for milling bone is providedin which bone to be milled is inserted into a bone milling apparatus.The apparatus has a housing defining a first opening, a second openingopposite the first opening, and a linear passage from the first openingto the second opening, the linear passage having a first surface withthird opening there through and a second surface transverse to the firstsurface. The apparatus also has a rotatable cutting member insertablethrough the third opening to partially block the linear passage. Therotatable cutting member is positioned at a distance from the secondsurface of the linear passage corresponding to a predetermined bone chipsize. The apparatus further includes a plunger and a milled materialreceptacle removably coupled to the second opening. The plunger isplaced in the first opening of the apparatus to force the bone towardsthe rotatable cutting member. The actuator element is operated to rotatethe rotatable cutting member, thereby milling the bone. The milledmaterial is collected in the milled material receptacle. In addition,the present invention provides for a bone mill which can be coupled to apowered device through an intermediary adapter to eliminate the need toactuate the bone mill manually.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention, and theattendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readilyunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates the internal and external features of a bone mill inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an exploded view of a bone mill in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 shows added features of a bone mill in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a bonemill in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of an alternative embodiment of a bonemill in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 depicts a rear view of an alternative embodiment of a bone millin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a front view of an alternative embodiment of a bone mill inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a top view of an alternative embodiment of a bonemill in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 depicts a bottom view of an alternative embodiment of a bone millin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of abone mill in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 depicts a perspective view of a mill body of an alternativeembodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a mill body of analternative embodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 shows an additional cross-sectional view of a mill body of analternative embodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of an actuator element of analternative embodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 depicts a cross sectional view of an actuator element of analternative embodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 shows a side view of an actuator element of an alternativeembodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 17 shows an actuator cap of an alternative embodiment of a bonemill in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 18 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an actuator cap of analternative embodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 19 illustrates a perspective view of a coupling element of analternative embodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 depicts a cross-sectional view of a coupling element of analternative embodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 21 shows a plunger of an alternative embodiment of a bone mill inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 22 depicts a receptacle of an alternative embodiment of a bone millin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 23 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a receptacle of analternative embodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 24 shows an expanded view of an assembly of a bone mill inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 25 depicts a modified actuator cap and an adapter of an alternativeembodiment of a bone mill in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 26 shows an additional view of the modified actuator cap andadapter of FIG. 25 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 27 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the modified actuator capof FIG. 25 in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 28 shows a cross-sectional view of the modified actuator capcoupled with the adapter of FIG. 25 in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a disposable, hand-operated bone millthat accommodates cutting plates to produce bone chips of a selectedsize based on a blade installed in the mill body 10. Referring now toFIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a bonemill having a mill body 10 that defines a first opening 12, a secondopening 14, and a linear passage 15 that extends from the first opening12 to the second opening 14. The mill body 10 further includes arotatable cutting member 18 coupled to an actuator element 20, as shownin FIG. 2. Further, the mill body 10 can include a third opening 16through which the rotatable cutting member 18 couples to the actuatorelement 20. The first opening 12 can be adapted to receive a plunger 22,and a receptacle 24 can be removably coupled to the second opening 14.

The first opening 12 provides an access area into which a suitably sizedbone portion can be inserted for milling. First opening 12 can be of anyshape, whether having a circular or rectangular cross-section, so longas a bone specimen of a particular dimension can pass through firstopening 12 and into the mill body 10 for subsequent milling. Firstopening 12 can be adapted to receive the plunger 22, which is used toaid in forcing a bone specimen further into the linear passage 15towards the rotatable cutting member 18. The plunger 22 can be of anyshape or orientation, so long as it is capable of being inserted intothe first opening 12, and includes at least one depressing surface forcontacting a bone specimen in the mill body 10 and forcing it furtherinto the linear passage 15.

The second opening 14 provides an exit area from which milled boneparticles may be dispensed. Second opening 14 can be of any shape,whether having a circular or rectangular cross-section, so long as it isof sufficient width to allow milled bone particles to descend out of theopening and into the receptacle 24. Receptacle 24 can be removablycoupled to the second opening 14 through any suitable affixation means,including affixation through the use of a threaded interlocking surface,a snap-on mechanism, or the like. Additionally, receptacle 24 may beaffixed either to an exterior surface or interior surface of the millbody 10 in the vicinity of the second opening 14 in order to capture thedispensed milled bone material. The receptacle 24 generally defines aninterior cavity accessible by a single opening to receive dispensedmilled material, and may be of any suitable shape as to be removablycoupled to the second opening 24 of the mill body 10.

The rotatable cutting member 18 preferably includes a cylindrical,rod-shaped element having a substantially solid cross-section, andfurther has at least one cutting element or cutting groove disposed onits outer periphery. Additionally, the rotatable cutting element 18 hasa diameter that is less than one-half of an inch, and is positioned inthe mill body 10 such that the rotatable cutting member substantiallyfills or occludes a portion of the linear passage 15. By occluding orfilling a portion of the linear passage 15, a bone specimen inserted inthe bone mill is ensured direct contact with the rotatable cuttingmember 18 to further guarantee that only bone chips of a particulardimension proceed further down the linear passageway 15, where theyeventually descend into the receptacle 24. An example of a suitableembodiment of the rotatable cutting member 18 is a precision milling bit(for instance, part #233049 from CONTROX®). The rotatable cutting memberis preferably constructed from a highly durable steel or metal materialthat will not dull easily during repeated uses of the bone mill.Rotatable cutting member 18 can include a spiral-oriented plurality ofgrooves which present multiple cutting edges for reducing a bonespecimen into bone chips or particles. The cutting edges of the cuttingmember can be positioned to cut into a bone specimen at approximately a45-degree angle when the bone mill is in use, which provides a maximizedmechanical advantage, reduces the amount of torque necessary toeffectively mill a bone specimen, and eases the overall use of the bonemill. Moreover, the cutting edges of the cutting member may includejagged or saw-tooth edges which perforate or otherwise cut into the boneon a micro level, delivering particles of the desired size and resultingin a more efficient milling process.

While an exemplary size of the bone particles produced by the rotatablecutting member 18 ranges from one-eighth (⅛) of an inch to approximatelythree-sixteenths ( 3/16) of an inch, the measurements and dimensions ofthe cutting grooves located on the rotatable cutting member may bemodified or characterized in order to produce bone chips of analternatively predetermined size.

Rotatable cutting member 18 is coupled to an actuator element 20 by anysuitable means of affixation including a bolt, screw, lock ring, or thelike. Actuator element 20 provides the mechanical driving means torotate the rotatable cutting member 18. The bone mill is preferablymanually driven, only requiring the hand strength of a singleindividual. To ease the use of the bone mill, the actuator element 20can be in the form of a knob or handle having a diameter or width thatis significantly larger than the diameter or width of the rotatablecutting member 18. The size ratio between the actuator element 20 andthe rotatable cutting member 18 provides a mechanical advantage for theuser and decreases the force that needs to be applied to the actuatorelement 20 in order to create sufficient force in the rotatable cuttingmember 18 to successfully reduce a bone specimen into particles of adesired size.

The linear passage 15 provides a direct pathway in which a bone specimencan descend directly through the first opening 12, through the rotatablecutting member 18, and outward from the second opening 14. The linearpassage 15 can have any virtually any shape or orientation, whetherbeing a circular or rectangular cross-section, so long as the width issufficient to receive a bone specimen and allow the specimen to descendthrough the mill body 10. The linear passage 15 can further include afirst region 26 having a first width and a second region 28 having asecond width. The first width of the first region 26 can be larger thanthe second width of the second region 28 so as to accommodate a largerbone specimen, while the second region need only be of sufficient widthto allow the milled particles to descend downward to the receptacle 24.The rotatable cutting member 18 can be positioned such that at least aportion of the rotatable cutting member 18 intersects at least a portionof the first region 26 and at least a portion of the second region 28.Placing the rotatable cutting member 18 in such a position can ensurethat only milled bone particles of a particular size can pass through tothe second region 28 of the linear passage 15, while maintaininglocation of the larger bone specimen within the first region 26.Alternatively to having a first and second region, the linear passagecan have a single, uniform width, or a plurality of widths, so long as abone specimen to be milled comes into contact with the rotatable cuttingmember prior to exiting the mill body 10.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bone mill can further include a funnel 30 andsyringe 32. The funnel 30 can be removably coupled to the receptacle 24when a desired amount of milled bone has been collected. The receptacle24 is uncoupled from the mill body 10, and is then coupled to the funnel30 through a mechanism similar to that which coupled the receptacle 24to the mill body 10, whether by the use of a threaded interlockingsurface, a snap-on mechanism, or the like. Upon coupling the receptacle24 to the funnel 30, the milled contents in the receptacle can betransferred into the syringe 32 for direct insertion to a surgical site.By coupling the funnel 30 directly to the receptacle 24, a user canensure that no milled contents are wasted or lost when transferring themilled bone from the bone mill to the eventual surgical site.

In an exemplary use prior to a medical procedure, a bone specimen to bemilled is inserted into the first opening 12 of the mill body 10. Theplunger 22 is then placed into contact with the bone specimen as itresides in the first region 26 of the linear passage 15 in the areaabove the rotatable cutting member 18. The actuator element 20 is thenmanually turned, which, in turn, rotates the rotatable cutting member18. While turning the actuator element 20, the user can depress theplunger, thereby forcing the bone specimen towards and into contact withthe rotatable cutting member. As the user continues to depress theplunger and turn the actuator element, the bone specimen will be reducedto bone particles of a desired size, which then descend through thesecond region 28 of the linear passage 15 and into the receptacle 24that is removably coupled to the second opening 14 of the mill body.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 through 24,a bone mill 40 includes a mill body 42, an actuator element 44, anactuator cap 46, a plunger 48, and a receptacle 50. In addition, asillustrated by FIG. 10, the bone mill 40 also includes a rotatablecutting member 52 and a coupling element 54.

Now referring to FIGS. 11 through 13, the mill body 42 defines a firstopening 56, a second opening 58, and a linear passage 60 that extendsfrom the first opening 56 to the second opening 58. The first opening 56can be adapted to receive the plunger 48, and the receptacle 50 can beremovably coupled to the second opening 58. The mill body 42 may alsoinclude a plurality of ridges 62 distributed about a portion of anexterior surface of the mill body 42, as well as one or more couplingslots 64. The ridges 62 increase the ability of the mill body 42 to begripped when the bone mill 40 is in use, while the coupling slots 64provide for subsequent assembly of the bone mill 40.

The mill body 42 further includes a third opening 66 through which therotatable cutting member 52 may pass through as to partially fill orocclude a portion of the linear passage 60. The linear passage 60includes a first region 68 descending from the first opening 56 towardsan area where the linear passage 60 intersects with the third opening66, and thus, where the rotatable cutting member 52 would be locatedwithin the linear passage 60. Further, the linear passage 60 includes asecond region 70 descending from the first region 68 towards the secondopening 58.

As shown in FIG. 14, the rotatable cutting member 52 is preferably arod-like element having grooves or cutting projections 78 disposed aboutan outer surface of the cutting member. Rotatable cutting member 52 caninclude a spiral-oriented plurality of grooves which present multiplecutting edges for reducing a bone specimen into bone chips or particles.The rotatable cutting member 52 may be removably coupled to the actuatorelement 44, where the actuator element 44 provides the mechanicaldriving means to rotate the rotatable cutting member 52.

Now referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, the actuator element 44 may be in theform of a handle or knob having a diameter significantly larger than thediameter of the rotatable cutting member 52 in order to provide amechanical advantage which reduces the amount of force necessary inorder to mill bone material. The actuator element 44 can have a cuttingmember channel 72 extending through the actuator element 44 which allowsthe rotatable cutting member 52 to be inserted, and thus coupled, to theactuator element 44. The channel 72 extends through the entire width ofthe actuator element 44, although the circumference of the channel 72may vary in order to mechanically engage the rotatable cutting member52. In addition, the actuator element 44 can have a mating groove 74extending around a circumference of a surface of the actuator element44.

The bone mill 40 can also include the actuator cap 46, as shown in FIGS.17 and 18. The actuator cap 46 has a generally disc-like shape and mayfurther include a plurality of protrusions 76 adapted to removablycouple to the actuator.

As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the bone mill 40 may include the couplingelement 54. The coupling element 54 is an essentially ring-likestructure that can include first and second projections 78 disposedabout an outer surface. Additionally, the coupling element 54 includesone or more prongs 80 extending from the body of the coupling element54, where the prongs 80 have a raised shoulder 82 at a single end of theprong.

The plunger 48 is provided as illustrated in FIG. 21. The plunger 48 canbe adapted to any shape which allows for insertion of the plunger 48into the first opening 56 of the mill body 42 to aid in forcing a bonespecimen into the linear passage 60 and towards the rotatable cuttingmember 52.

Now referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, the receptacle 50 defines a cavity 84for receiving milled bone material when coupled to the mill body 42. Inaddition to capturing dispensed bone material, the receptacle 50 mayalso provide a support function for stabilizing the bone mill 40 whenthe mill is placed on a surface for subsequent use. For example, thereceptacle 50 can include a first end 86 which couples to the mill body42, where the first end 86 includes an opening into the cavity 84 fordeposit of milled bone material. The receptacle 50 also includes asecond end 88, opposite the first end 86, which has a larger width thanthe first end 86, thereby increasing a surface area of the receptacle 50and increasing the stability of the bone mill 40 when placed on asurface. The receptacle 50 may include an alignment feature, in the formof a groove or raised projection to aid in ensuring the proper alignmentof the cavity 84 and the second opening 58 in the mill body 42 when thereceptacle 50 is coupled to the mill body 42.

As shown in FIG. 24, in an exemplary assembly and use of the bone mill40 of the present invention, the mill body 42 is mated with the couplingelement 54. The first and second projections 78 of the coupling element54 are inserted into the coupling slots 64 of the mill body 42, as tosecure the coupling element 54 to the mill body 42. Subsequently, theactuator element 44 is mated with the coupling element 54, and thus, tothe mill body 42. The shoulders 82 extending from the prongs 80 of thecoupling element 54 engage the mating groove 74 of the actuator element44 in such a way that the actuator element 44 is firmly coupled to thecoupling element 54 and the mill body 42, yet retains the ability torotate in place.

Upon coupling the actuator element 44 to the mill body 42, the rotatablecutting element is inserted through the actuator element 44 and into thecutting member channel 72. Once the rotatable cutting member 52 isplaced in the channel 72, a portion of the rotatable cutting member 52will protrude out of the actuator element 44, through the third opening66 of the mill body 42, and into a portion of the linear passage 60.

To prevent the rotatable cutting member 52 from displacing during use ofthe bone mill 40, the actuator cap 46 is then coupled to the actuator,thus enclosing the exposed interior of the actuator element 44, andpreventing the rotatable cutting element from falling out. Because ofthe removable nature of the actuator cap 46 and the rotatable cuttingmember 52, cutting members having different dimensions or features maybe interchanged without disassembling the entire bone mill 40, allowingbone chips of varying, predetermined sizes to be created rather quicklyand effortlessly. The assembled bone mill 40, actuator element 44,rotatable cutting member 52, and actuator cap 46 may then be coupled tothe receptacle 50 and placed on a surface, employing the increasedsurface area, and thus stability, of the receptacle 50. The desiredmaterial to be milled is then placed in the first opening 56 of the millbody 42, and forced down the linear passage 60 towards the rotatablecutting member 52 by the plunger 48.

While the measurements and dimensions of the cutting grooves located onthe rotatable cutting member 52 may be modified or characterized inorder to produce bone chips of an alternatively predetermined size,characteristics of bone chips created by the bone mill 40 may further bemanipulated by modifying the spacing between an outer edge of therotatable cutting member 52 and a surface of the linear passage 60. As aresult, the spacing between the rotatable cutting member 52 and asurface of the linear passage 60 define a single-stage milling assemblycapable of producing bone chips of a desired size without the need foradditional cutting members to produce intermediate-sized bone chips forsubsequent milling.

For example, as may be readily observed in FIG. 12, in the mill body 42,if the first region 68 of the linear passage 60 has a first width, andthe rotatable cutting member 52 has a first diameter that is smallerthan the first width, then there would be a space between a surface ofthe linear passage 60 and the rotatable cutting member 52 equal to thedifference between the first width 54 and the first diameter 56. Thus,the spacing between the rotatable cutting member 52 and a surface of thelinear passage 60 would physically prevent any bone chips having a sizegreater than that spacing from passing about the rotatable cuttingelement and descending through the linear passage 60. As a result, bymodifying the spacing between the rotatable cutting member 52 and asurface of the linear passage 60, for example by interchanging rotatablecutting members having different diameters, bone chips of apredetermined size may be created.

In an alternative embodiment, the bone mill of the present invention canbe coupled to a powered tool or drive source element to facilitate themilling process rather than operating the bone mill manually. Nowreferring to FIGS. 25 through 28, the bone mill may further include anactuator cap 90 adapted to removably couple to the actuator element 20.The actuator cap 90 has a generally disc-like shape as describedpreviously, however, for the alternative power-driven embodiment of thebone mill, the actuator cap further defines an adaptor receivingimpression 92 on a surface of the cap. The adapter receiving impression92 provides an indented surface shaped to receive and couple to anadapter 94.

The adapter 94 is an intermediary element which serves to couple theactuator cap 90 and thus the bone mill, to a drive source element (notshown), such as a power drill, rotary tool, or other powered devicehaving a tool-receiving portion for engaging drill bits or otherelements. The adapter 94 defines a first end 96 coupleable with theadapter receiving impression 92 of the actuator cap 90, and a second end98 which can be engaged by the particular drive source element. Both thefirst and second ends of the adapter 94 can include a myriad of shapesor characteristics to effectively implement the drive source element andthus power the bone mill. As merely an illustrative example, the firstend 96 of the adapter 94 may define a protruding element having aplurality of surfaces 97, 97′ angled sharply from one another in orderto securely frictionally engage the actuator cap. The surfaces 97, 97′provide a large area for contacting the walls of the adapter receivingimpression 92 of the actuator cap 90 as to reduce the likelihood thatthe adapter 94 rotates within the actuator cap 90, thereby preventingthe walls of the cap becoming stripped or worn down. The second end 98of the adapter may define a plurality of protrusions having varyingdiameters or widths as to conform to the tool-receiving portion of thedrive source element.

In an exemplary use of the features described above, the actuator cap 90having the adapter receiving impression is coupled to the actuator 20 ofthe bone mill. The adapter 94 is engaged with the drive source elementby coupling the second end 98 of the adapter with the tool-receivingportion of the drive source element. The drive source element and theadapter 94 are then positioned proximate the bone mill as to engage thefirst end 96 of the adapter with adapter receiving impression 92 of theactuator cap 90. Once the adapter 94 is suitably coupled with theactuator cap 90, the drive source element can be turned on or triggeredto provide the turning force required to operate the bone mill and thusprocess milled bone material as discussed above.

Through the use of the adapter 94 and modified actuator cap 90, the bonemill can be integrated with automated power tools that are alreadypresent in the operating room. As such, there is no need to provide anadditional tool or element to power the bone mill, and the bone mill canfurther retain its compact size and portability as there is no integralmotor or bulky accessories needed to implement the bone mill as apowered device.

While it has been described that the actuator cap includes the adapterreceiving impression in order to couple the bone mill to a powered drivesource, such coupling could also be achieved by directly including afeature similar to the receiving impression in the actuator itself.Subsequently, a suitable adapter could be coupled directly to theactuator in order to engage a powered drive source.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the presentinvention is not limited to what has been particularly shown anddescribed herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above tothe contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawingsare not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above teachings without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention, which is limited only by the following claims.

1. An apparatus for bone milling, comprising: a housing defining a firstopening, a second opening opposite the first opening, and a linearpassage from the first opening to the second opening, the linear passagehaving a first surface with third opening therethrough and a secondsurface transverse to the first surface; a rotatable cutting memberinsertable through the third opening to partially block the linearpassage, the rotatable cutting member being positioned at a distancefrom the second surface of the linear passage, the distance defining apredetermined bone chip size; an actuator element having a first end anda second end opposite the first end, wherein the first end is removablycoupled to the housing; and an actuator cap removably coupleable withthe second end of the actuator element, the actuator cap defining anadapter receiving impression.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising an adapter including a first end and a second end,wherein the first end of the adapter is positionable within the adapterreceiving impression of the actuator cap.
 3. The apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the first end of the adapter defines a plurality ofsurfaces substantially angled from one another to securely engage theactuator cap.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theactuator element defines a channel adapted to contain at least a portionof the rotatable cutting member therein.
 5. The apparatus according toclaim 4, where the channel extends substantially from the first end tothe second end.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein therotatable cutting member is removable from the channel and the linearpassage of the housing while the actuator remains coupled to thehousing.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising areceptacle removably coupled to the second opening.
 8. The apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein the receptacle has a first end and asecond end opposite the first end, the second end having a substantiallylarger surface area than the first end.
 9. The apparatus according toclaim 8, wherein the receptacle further includes an alignment elementfor engagement with a corresponding element on the housing.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 9, wherein the alignment element on thereceptacle is one of a groove and a raised projection.
 11. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the rotatable cutting member includes atleast one spiral-oriented groove that provides a cutting edge.
 12. Theapparatus according to claim 1, further including a plunger dimensionedto be removably insertable into the first opening of the housing. 13.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus furthercomprises a coupling element engageable with the housing and theactuator element to keep the actuator element coupled to the housingduring operation.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein thehousing further includes at least one slot, and wherein the couplingelement has: at least one projection engageable with a corresponding atleast one slot to removeably couple the coupling element with thehousing; and at least one shoulder to engage the actuator element. 15.An apparatus for bone milling engageable with a drive source having atool-receiving portion, comprising: a housing defining a first opening,a second opening opposite the first opening, and a linear passage fromthe first opening to the second opening; a single-stage milling assemblyconsisting of a rotatable cutting member traversing at least a portionof the linear passage; an actuator element defining a first end, asecond end opposite the first end and a channel extending from the firstend to the second end; an actuator cap removably coupleable with thesecond end of the actuator element, the actuator cap defining an adapterreceiving impression; and an adapter defining a first end and a secondend, wherein the first end is positionable in the adapter receivingimpression of the actuator cap and the second end is engageable with thetool-receiving portion of a drive source.
 16. The apparatus according toclaim 15, wherein the rotatable cutting member includes aspiral-oriented plurality of grooves that provide a respective pluralityof cutting edges.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein therotatable cutting member is positioned at a distance from a portion ofthe linear passage, the distance defining a predetermined bone chipsize.
 18. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first end ofthe adapter defines a plurality of surfaces substantially angled fromone another to securely engage the actuator cap.
 19. A method formilling bone, comprising the steps of: inserting bone to be milled intoa bone milling apparatus, the apparatus being comprised of: a housingdefining a first opening, a second opening opposite the first opening,and a linear passage from the first opening to the second opening, thelinear passage having a first surface with third opening there throughand a second surface transverse to the first surface; and a rotatablecutting member defining a cutting edge, the rotatable cutting memberbeing insertable through the third opening to partially block the linearpassage, the rotatable cutting member further being positioned at adistance from the second surface of the linear passage corresponding toa predetermined bone chip size; an actuator element defining a firstend, a second end opposite the first end and a channel extending fromthe first end to the second end; an actuator cap removably coupleablewith the second end of the actuator element, the actuator cap definingan adapter receiving impression; and an adapter defining a first end anda second end, wherein the first end is positionable in the adapterreceiving impression of the actuator cap; a plunger; and a milledmaterial receptacle removably coupled to the second opening; engagingthe second end of the adapter with a drive source; placing the plungerin the first opening of the apparatus to force the bone towards therotatable cutting member, operating the drive source to rotate therotatable cutting member, thereby milling the bone, and collecting themilled material in the milled material receptacle.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 19, wherein the cutting edge of the rotatable cuttingmember is positioned to contact the bone at approximately a forty-fivedegree angle.